Acting
Commissioner Dr. George T. DiFerdinando, Jr. announced today that
the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will begin providing
antibiotic treatment to all people who went into the non-public workplace
areas of the Route 130 Mail Processing Center in Hamilton Township
dating back to September 18. Environmental samples of the workplace
areas have confirmed anthrax contamination in this part of the facility.

The
DHSS, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and St. Francis Medical Center, will open the clinic in the
Crean Hall Auditorium in the School of Nursing at St. Francis Medical
Center on 601 Hamilton Avenue in Trenton on Sunday, October 28 from
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. The clinic will continue through Thursday
from 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

But
again, Dr. DiFerdinando reiterated that visitors to the public areas
- where stamps are bought, the mail box section and where mail is
weighed and stamped - do not need to get treated since the public
areas of the facility have tested negative for anthrax.

The
following individuals who have visited the workplace areas of the
Hamilton facility since September 18 are strongly encouraged to
visit the clinic and begin receiving the 60-day treatment regimen:
· temporary postal workers
· vendors
· contractors
· anyone in the workplace areas

A
separate clinic for postal workers of the Hamilton facility has
been in operation by the Robert Wood Johnson University Medical
Center at Hamilton.

Sixty
days of antibiotic treatment are recommended to all postal workers
and persons going into the workplace areas of the Hamilton facility
even if they have received a negative nasal swab result. The swab
tests are used to see where exposures might have occurred in the
facility. A negative swab test does not mean that a person has not
been exposed to anthrax. In fact, nasal swabs for two people with
suspected inhalational anthrax from the Hamilton Township facility
were negative.

The
Department has established a bioterrorism phone line at the Emergency
Operations Center at 609-538-6030 that is open between 8 am and
11 pm until further notice. Hearing-impaired residents with anthrax-related
concerns can contact the New Jersey Relay Center by dialing either
711 or 1-800- 852-7899. The Relay Center will convey the message
to DHSS at 609-538-6030. Information is also available on the website
at www.state.nj.us/health.